Howard Court sits in 22 acres of pasture and woodland at East Angrove, just outside Great Ayton, with the Cleveland Hills rising behind it and Roseberry Topping on the skyline. A river runs through the grounds. It is a farm setting converted with a light hand and a good eye, and the venue describes its own style as rustic but glam, classy but chill — cheerfully unpretentious, and, on the evidence, fairly accurate.
The newest of the buildings is the Old Dairy, a barn conversion finished in 2023, with exposed oak, red brick, white walls, arched windows and enough fairy lights and chandeliers to make the whole place glow once it is dark; it takes up to 100 for a ceremony or a wedding breakfast. The older Stable Barn does similar duty with more beam and brick about it, and works beautifully for smaller ceremonies. Between the two lies the Mediterranean-style courtyard, canopied, heated and furnished with seating, which is where everyone washes up after the ceremony and where the day tends to find its rhythm. Five spaces in all are licensed for ceremonies, indoors and out.
Everything is exclusive use, and the packages include the catering and the bar rather than leaving you to assemble them — anything from a formal 3 courses to sharing platters, a barbecue or street food, with pizzas and grazing tables later on. Most bookings come with 3 days on site, so the barns can be dressed the day before instead of at dawn. There is somewhere to sleep, too: a bridal cottage for 4, 2 shepherd’s huts, and a converted riverside fishing cabin with a firepit and veranda, with lodges nearby at a discount. The grounds are lovely to wander — a pergola, a gravelled terrace, seasonal beds and a deliberately wild secret garden.
Where the band plays
The Old Dairy and the Stable Barn are both built for the evening as much as the day, and the usual pattern is to dine and then dance in the same room, which keeps the energy up instead of asking 100 people to relocate. Daytime numbers run to 100 and the evening opens out to 150, so a band is playing to a properly full room rather than a half-empty hall. The barns have the hard surfaces and honest acoustics that live music likes, and underfloor heating means a winter date works as happily as a summer one. Loading in across the courtyard is straightforward, and parking is included and on site.
How the evening runs
Parties here run until midnight. In practice that means a ceremony somewhere between noon and 3pm, a long unhurried afternoon in the courtyard, dinner, and then the band taking over for the last few hours with a break for the evening food. Because guests can stay on site and the place is yours until midday the following day, the end of the night is relaxed rather than abrupt. If you are planning anything outdoors in the courtyard — an acoustic set during drinks, say — mention it early so the team can advise on where it sits best.
Bands available in North Yorkshire and perfectly at home in a venue like this.
More live music in North Yorkshire.
- North Yorkshire Wedding Bands
- North Yorkshire Events Bands
- Tribute Acts in North Yorkshire
- Wedding DJs in North Yorkshire
- Corporate Entertainment in North Yorkshire
Worth reading before you book: Sound Limiters Explained. More questions answered on our England & Wales FAQs.